Italy arrests 300 in crackdown on crime organization

Charges include murder, extortion, arms and drug trafficking and criminal association. The alleged boss of the 'ndrangheta group is among those held.

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 13, 2010

ROME

Italian police on Tuesday carried out one of the biggest operations ever against the powerful 'ndrangheta crime organization, arresting 300 people including top bosses, and seizing millions of dollars in property.

The man believed to be the 'ndrangheta's top boss, Domenico Oppedisano, was picked up earlier in the day in Rosarno, a small coastal town in Calabria, the southern region where the organization is based, police said.

Also arrested was the man in charge of the gang's businesses in Milan, where the 'ndrangheta has been making major inroads.

The predawn raids Tuesday involved some 3,000 police across the country. Charges include murder, extortion, arms and drug trafficking and criminal association.

Investigators described the operation as one of the biggest blows ever to an organization that today is considered more powerful than the Sicilian Mafia. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the sweep struck at the heart of the 'ndrangheta in terms of both its organization and of its finances.

The sweep dismantled some of the most powerful families in the organization, Italian news agencies said. It also enabled investigators to shed light on the 'ndrangheta structure and power hierarchy.

The biggest operation was in the Milan region of Lombardy, where 160 people were reportedly arrested. They included businessmen and the director of state medical services in the city of Pavia.

The last big operation against the Calabrian mob dates to the 1990s. Since then it has expanded its power, not only in Italy but in such countries as Germany.

A clan war spread to Germany in 2007, when six Italians were gunned down by a rival gang in retribution for an earlier killing as they left a birthday celebration in the western city of Duisburg. Italian officials have said all three people responsible for the shooting have been arrested.

Anti-mafia prosecutors say Milan has become the economic center for the organization, which migrated to the north in the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly all of the clans are present in Lombardy.

Prosecutors say wiretaps are key to investigating hard-to-infiltrate mafia clans, and have complained bitterly against a proposed new bill that aims to limit the use of electronic eavesdropping. Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has been stung by some embarrassing disclosure in published transcripts of private conversations mostly unrelated to investigations, is pushing the measures through parliament.

While terrorism and mafia investigations are exempt from the proposed restrictions, magistrates complain that big probes often stem from low-level criminal cases. Passage of the law, they say, will give criminals operating in Italy protection.

The restrictions include a strict time limit on wiretaps, which prosecutors say is insufficient, and a level of proof needed to obtain permission to launch the wiretaps that investigators charge is tantamount to evidence needed for a conviction.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-italy-mob-20100714,0,864825,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cousins sentenced in terrorism case

Zubair Ahmed and Khaleel Ahmed of the Chicago area had planned to travel overseas and kill U.S. soldiers, although they never got beyond an initial trip to Egypt. They were arrested in 2007.

By Richard A. Serrano, Tribune Washington Bureau

July 13, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Two cousins from the Chicago area were sentenced to prison Monday for providing material support to terrorists after attempting to carry out a plan to travel to U.S. war zones and kill American soldiers.

Zubair Ahmed and Khaleel Ahmed apologized in federal court in Toledo, Ohio, with Zubair Ahmed telling the judge: "I was caught up in world events. At that time, I was looking at U.S. troops as my enemy."

Zubair Ahmed, 31, of North Chicago was given 10 years in prison and Khaleel Ahmed, 29, of Chicago was sentenced to eight years and four months.

In a sentencing memorandum, Justin E. Herdman, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the cousins "committed a long-term plan to engage in violent jihad on the battlefield against members of the United States military. The conspiracy spanned three continents, involved a number of other co-conspirators, and consumed at least three years of the defendants' relatively young lives."

But defense attorney Terry Gilbert said the cousins were naive, and that beyond an initial trip to Egypt, "nothing ever materialized."

U.S. District Judge James Carr was unconvinced. "You can think what you want about this country," he told the cousins. "But you can't follow up and take action."

The two were arrested at their homes in February 2007. Three years earlier they had traveled to Cairo with the hope of eventually getting to Afghanistan or Iraq. But they returned to the U.S. after Zubair's father, Harris Ahmed, learned of their intentions.

The cousins next discussed firearms training and acquiring a WASR-10 assault rifle, as well as a .50-caliber machine gun and sniper rifles. Zubair Ahmed purchased a handgun. They also joined with co-conspirators in Toledo and met at an Islamic convention in Cleveland with a man who turned out to be an undercover agent.

In a phone conversation, Zubair Ahmed encouraged Khaleel Ahmed not to change his mind.

"Yeah, you can't give up, dude," Zubair Ahmed told him. "Remember what you said? There … there many obstacles that we've got to go through and this is one of them. There's the … obstacles that we still are going through and, you know, it's never going to end."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ohio-terror-20100713,0,3948485,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mexico takes different tack on Juarez violence

A shift from military to police control is part of a broadened strategy aimed at curbing violence that has killed more than 5,000 people in Ciudad Juarez since 2008. So far, the results are mixed.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

July 12, 2010

Reporting from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

The rifle-toting Mexican soldiers who patrolled in convoys have been sent to the barracks. Now 5,000 federal police officers are responsible for law and order in Mexico's deadliest city.

The shift in April from military to civilian police control is part of a broadened Mexican government strategy aimed at curbing street violence that has killed more than 5,000 people in Ciudad Juarez since early 2008.

So far, the results have been mixed. The bodies keep piling up and a fledgling "hearts and minds" campaign has yet to produce convincing gains.

The new approach includes a wide-ranging effort to address the vast social and economic ills that are believed to feed crime and gangs in Juarez. Officials unveiled the retooled effort after a huge outcry over the January slayings of 15 people when drug-gang hit men stormed a teen party in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

Saving Juarez won't be easy. Months after the new police deployment, the city's murder rate remains stubbornly high: about seven killings a day, according to unofficial tallies in the news media.

On a recent day, 22 people were slain. Another day, the mayor of a town outside Juarez died in a hail of gunfire at the home he kept in the city. Early this month, assassins ambushed and killed a deputy state prosecutor in her car.

Fear-stricken Juarez residents say the government has replaced one heavily armed federal force with another, so far without solving their biggest worry: the lack of security.

"It's a very ugly environment, very tense," said Maria Elena Perez, a 63-year-old resident interviewed at a shopping center that has its own private security force and offers unofficial haven from the daily violence. "They promised a lot of things. We haven't seen any changes."

Officials say they're on the right track in trying to mend the "social fabric" of the scruffy border city through a $260-million effort called Todos Somos Juarez, or "We Are All Juarez."

The project is in response to frequent criticisms that President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on drug cartels, begun in December 2006, has relied too much on firepower and given short shrift to addressing the kinds of problems that can steer young people to crime: deep poverty, inadequate schools and child care, and a lack of jobs and recreation.

Juarez, with 1.3 million residents, has for more than two years been the scene of a bloody turf battle between potent drug-trafficking organizations and related feuding among homegrown street gangs.

The wave of violence, which has included beheadings and bodies strung up in public, struck at the same time that the economic tailspin closed scores of businesses, slashed output in Juarez's assembly plants and torpedoed 1 in 4 formal jobs.

"A lot of crises came together during the same period," said Manuel Sotelo, a trucking company executive who presides over a group representing 10 business associations.

The Mexican government now hopes to win back ground by augmenting crime fighting with jobs programs and construction of parks, schools and hospitals.

"It's not enough to analyze it only in terms of public safety. You have serious gaps in the social and economic [areas] that have to be closed," said Antonio Vivanco, a Calderon advisor overseeing the development effort.

In the first months, the program has paid to have more than 750 police cruisers outfitted with GPS technology so commanders can track them, a check against official corruption. Authorities have assigned extra police to key thoroughfares to create nine "safe corridors," envisioned as crime-free zones.

More than 5,000 residents have received job-training grants or temporary work sprucing up parks and sidewalks and planting trees. Officials added thousands of families to a government insurance program and handed out 6,000 scholarships in a city where few students were receiving such help.

Some skeptics wondered whether the outlay was aimed mainly at winning support for Calderon's conservative National Action Party before elections held July 4 in the state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located. If so, it didn't work: The president's party lost.

Human rights advocates say the switch to federal police has given the officers a more receptive audience than the army had, but residents complain that the police have shown signs of heavy-handedness too.

Gustavo de la Rosa, the state's human rights ombudsman in Juarez, said he sees little change in the basics of the drug war strategy here. De la Rosa said the Calderon government appears content to let the two warring drug cartels — from Juarez and the northwestern state of Sinaloa — slaughter each other. But this also results in civilian casualties and creates a climate of terror.

"They changed the actors, but the play is the same," he said.

Even for residents who applaud the nascent push to build libraries, schools and playgrounds, the daily violence trumps all.

"Although the government is making a great effort to recover cultural and educational spaces in Juarez, the problems of insecurity haven't gone down," one resident wrote in a chat session on the Todos Somos Juarez website.

Vivanco said it was frustrating that the bloodshed garners the most attention. But it's hard to find a corner of the city left untouched by the violence.

Sandra Reyes, a 33-year-old sidewalk vendor, said one of her neighbors was slain a few weeks earlier in an apparent gang-related revenge killing for something his brother had done. As for anti-drug strategies, Reyes shrugged.

"I live my life with my family and forget about the rest," she said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-juarez-20100713,0,7379351,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 dead in Albuquerque office rampage

A former employee of fiber optics firm Emcore kills two people, then shoots himself over a domestic dispute, police say. His girlfriend is among the four wounded.

By Michael Haederle, Los Angeles Times

July 12, 2010

Reporting from Albuquerque

A gunman targeting his live-in girlfriend opened fire at a fiber optics manufacturing plant Monday, killing two people and wounding four others before turning the weapon on himself, police say.

The gunman was identified by police as Robert Reza, a former employee of Emcore Corp., where hundreds of workers fled after the shooting broke out shortly before 9:30 a.m.

"We believe it is a workplace domestic violence situation," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said, adding that the girlfriend, who had told co-workers that she feared for her safety, was among those wounded. The couple's two children were safe, he said.

Reza confronted his girlfriend outside and then retreated into the building when police arrived about three minutes after the first 911 call, authorities say. He had fired more than 20 rounds, indicating he had reloaded his gun. Fearful other people could be shot, officers moved into the building swiftly.

"They didn't wait for backup," Schultz said. "They did exactly what they were trained to do.... They went in as a team."

As panicked workers streamed from the building, the officers found one victim lying dead in the parking lot. Reza was found inside dead. He apparently shot himself, Schultz said.

While the armed response team checked for a possible second shooter, other officers carried bloodied victims to their patrol cars and raced them to waiting ambulances, he said.

Five victims with gunshot wounds were brought to University of New Mexico Hospital, said Dr. Robert Bailey, the hospital's incident commander.

One, a woman, died in surgery. Another patient underwent surgery and was admitted in "guarded but solid condition," Bailey said. Another patient was also in guarded condition, according to Schultz, and the other two were stable.

Early on, police had reported that six people were killed. Schultz blamed the discrepancy on confusion at the shooting scene.

"This was an ongoing, dynamic situation," he said. "When the active shooter team went in, they came across victims. They thought they were deceased."

Darren White, the city's public safety director, said he saw some of the officers who helped evacuate the building, their uniforms still covered in blood.

"They were doing everything they could to save these victims," White said.

Emcore, a multinational firm based in Albuquerque, specializes in fiber optics and high-efficiency photovoltaic technology.

Schultz said a total of 220 employees from two buildings at the several-acre site near Kirtland Air Force Base were taken to a community center. The workers were checked by paramedics and met with detectives and grief counselors.

Reza's criminal history had consisted of two drunk driving arrests, one seven years ago, the other 10 years ago.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-new-mexico-shooting-20100713,0,2733049,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman Polanski freeing meets with outrage from prosecutors, U.S. State Department

The Swiss government's decision Monday to free Roman Polanski met with outrage from L.A. County prosecutors and the U.S. State Department.

Polanski will not be extradited to the United States to face sentencing for having sex with a girl -- the ultimate charge in the case after a plea deal – allowing him to roam freely in Switzerland and France, where he has lived since he fled the United States before his sentencing 32 years ago.

Local and federal officials vowed to continue the pursuit of Polanski, though their options are now significantly limited.

“A 13-year-old girl was drugged and raped,” said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley. “This is not a matter of technicality. To push this case aside based on technicalities we think is regrettable …. We think it sends a very important message regarding how ... women and girls are treated around the world."

Laura Sweeney, a spokeswoman at the Department of Justice, which helps process extradition requests, said federal prosecutors are "very disappointed in the decision by the Swiss government."

"Whenever the United States seeks an individual's extradition, we do so on the basis that our request is supported by the facts and the terms of our treaty,'' she said. "That is true in this case as well. We believe the extradition request submitted by the United States was fully supported by the evidence, met the requirements of the extradition treaty and involved a serious offense.''

L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who led the effort to bring Polanski back to the U.S., said he was dumbfounded. "Mr. Polanski is still convicted of serious child sex charges," Cooley said.

In a statement, Cooley added: “I am deeply disappointed that the Swiss authorities denied the request to extradite Roman Polanski. Our office complied fully with all of the factual and legal requirements of the extradition treaty and requests by the U.S. and Swiss Departments of Justice and State.

“We will discuss with the Department of Justice the extradition of Roman Polanski if he's arrested in a cooperative jurisdiction,” the district attorney added.

The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents requested by the Swiss.

The Swiss government's announcement was a dramatic development in a case that has lasted more than 30 years. In 1978, Polanski fled the U.S. hours before he was to be sentenced for having unlawful sex with a minor.

He has not set foot in the U.S. since. Born in France, Polanski is a French citizen.

The U.S. lodged a formal extradition request at the end of October. Legal experts said that by law, Swiss justice officials were obliged to rule on the request only on technical and administrative grounds, examining it to see that all proper procedures were followed, rather than on the actual merits of the case against Polanski. In its decision Monday, the Swiss Justice Department said it could not exclude the possibility that the extradition request was "undermined by a serious fault" because the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents.

Specifically, the Swiss wanted to determine whether the 42 days Polanski had already spent in a Los Angeles jail would have been considered sufficient time served for having sex with a minor.

Also, Swiss authorities said that until 2009, the U.S. had not filed any extradition request against Polanski "for years," even though it knew he had bought a house in Switzerland in 2006 and was a regular visitor there. That gave the director a reasonable expectation that he was not under threat of arrest and deportation from there.

"Roman Polanski would not have decided to go to the film festival in Zürich in September 2009 if he had not trusted that the journey would not entail any legal disadvantages for him," the Swiss justice department said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/roman-polanski-arrest-meets-with-outrage-from-prosecutors-us-state-department.html#more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman Polanski: L.A. County district attorney 'surprised and disappointed' by Swiss action

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley told The Times on Monday that he was "genuinely surprised and disappointed" that Swiss authorities decided not to extradite Roman Polanski to the U.S. to face sentencing for having sex with a teenage girl three decades ago.

Cooley, who led the effort to extradite Polanski years after he fled the U.S. to avoid jail time, said he would have more to say on the matter later Monday. It's unclear what legal options L.A. prosecutors now have in their attempt to bring the famed director back to L.A.

"Mr. Polanski is still convicted of serious child sex charges," Cooley said.

The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said a flaw in the U.S. extradition request could not be ruled out and that Polanski, who maintains a vacation home in Switzerland, could reliably expect not to be arrested and deported since the U.S. knew of his frequent presence there over the last few years but never acted on it.

Polanski, 76, has already been released from house arrest, the justice department said.

The director has been in Swiss custody since last September, when police in Zurich arrested him on his arrival in the city to accept a lifetime achievement award at a film festival. The arrest was made at the request of authorities in Los Angeles.

The U.S. lodged a formal extradition request at the end of October. Legal experts said that, by law, Swiss justice officials were obliged to rule on the request only on technical and administrative grounds, examining it to see that all proper procedures were followed, rather than on the actual merits of the case against Polanski.

In its decision Monday, the Swiss justice department said it could not exclude the possibility that the extradition request was "undermined by a serious fault," because the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents requested by the Swiss with regard to the case.

Specifically, the Swiss wanted to determine whether the 42 days Polanski already served in a Los Angeles jail would have been considered sufficient time served for having sex with a minor.

Also, Swiss authorities said that, until 2009, the U.S. had not filed any extradition request against Polanski "for years," even though U.S. officials knew he had bought a house in Switzerland in 2006 and was a regular visitor there. That gave the director a reasonable expectation that he was not under threat of arrest and deportation from Switzerland.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/roman-polanski-la-county-district-attorney-surprised-and-disappointed-by-swiss-action.html#more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Polanski case about rape, not legal wrangling. Let's not forget that

You'd have to call it Roman Polanski's luckiest day since 1978, when he managed to flee Los Angeles before a judge sentenced him for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

On Monday, Swiss authorities refused to extradite the Oscar winner, who was arrested last year in Switzerland and placed under house arrest while Los Angeles prosecutors lobbied to have him brought back for a final verdict on a crime committed more than 30 years ago.

The Swiss government said there were "persisting doubts concerning the presentation of the facts of the case." It said a confidential statement by the former prosecutor had not been turned over to it. Once again, Polanski is saved by legal nonsense.

Yes, Polanski did undergo a 42-day in-custody observation in California after being initially charged with raping a child model after telling her to disrobe in Jack Nicholson's house, where Polanski photographed her and allegedly plied her with alcohol and drugs.

And he was led to believe he'd be free after serving the short stint for a guilty plea of unlawful sex, going on the lam only when it appeared that the judge might keep him behind bars longer.

But having read through the grand jury testimony by the victim, as I did last year, and given Polanski's acknowledgment that the had sex with her, I don't see it as anything but rape, and 42 days of observation was a joke.

Observation for what? 

The district attorney's office was under the impression at the time that the victim would not testify, thereby weakening its case, but prosecutors were too quick to cut a deal that was a gift to Polanski. As for all the Polanski apologists in L.A. and around the world, I'd like to remind them that, as I reported last year, the girl said on more than one occasion in grand jury testimony that she didn't want to do what Polanski was asking her to do.

She was scared and wanted to get away from him and go home, but he pushed and prodded, asked if she was on the pill, and had anal intercourse to avoid getting her pregnant.

"This is a travesty," said a statement Monday morning from Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "Our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of sexual assault victims whose perpetrators escaped justice by political clout, shrewd maneuvering or by running out the clock on the statute of limitations."

Polanski, the statement went on, "got off scot-free despite his heinous sex offense against a girl."

Not quite scot-free, but close enough.

Your thoughts?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/polanski-case-about-rape-not-legal-wrangling-lets-not-forget-that.html#more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Swiss miss on Roman Polanski

The filmmaker's celebrity status seemed to influence the decision not to allow extradition

July 13, 2010

Roman Polanski committed a serious crime in 1977, pleading guilty to sex with a 13-year-old girl as part of an agreement that spared him from a charge of drugging and raping his victim. In refusing to extradite Polanski to the United States, the government of Switzerland has substituted its judgment for that of the U.S. legal system. It's a usurpation that trivializes Polanski's wrongdoing in the cause of twisted notions of "good faith" and the requirements of "international public order."

Switzerland's primary rationalization was that the judge in Polanski's case may have reneged on a promise that the director would serve only 42 days in a prison psychiatric unit. "It is not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty," the Swiss justice department said, "that Roman Polanski has already served the sentence he was condemned to." The department noted that it couldn't be sure because it had been denied sealed testimony by a former prosecutor that might have corroborated that assertion.

But that's an issue that should have been dealt with by an inquiry in an American court once Polanski was back in the United States. Switzerland's proper role was not to consider the underlying facts of a sentence but to return a fugitive from justice.

As if they realized their claim was unconvincing, the Swiss also said that under international law, extradition requests must be acted on in "good faith." Doing so, the department said, required taking into account the fact that the United States waited years to file a formal request for Polanski to be taken into custody. That delay supposedly justified Polanski's expectation that he wouldn't be arrested if he attended a film festival in Zurich.

It's hard to resist concluding that Polanski's celebrity played a role in his rescue from a legal accounting in the United States. Would a fugitive who wasn't a gifted director provoke musings about the dictates of "international public order"? Or the conclusion that, just because he hadn't been apprehended so far, he had a legitimate expectation that he would remain free forever? It seems the Swiss may share the moral myopia that has made Polanski an object of sympathy throughout Europe. ( France's culture minister said the pursuit of Polanski was evidence of "a scary America.")

As we have observed before, Polanski has every right to argue to a U.S. court that he was misled by the judge in his case about his punishment. But the legal and moral prerequisite for such a contention is that he return to the United States. Difficult as it will be, the district attorney and the U.S. Justice Department should continue to monitor Polanski's movements in the hope that some other country might honor the obligations that Switzerland irresponsibly ignored.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-polanski-20100713,0,739513,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the New York Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pakistan Says Iran Scientist in U.S. Fled to Its Embassy

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In the latest twist in a murky tale, Pakistan said on Tuesday that an Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran says was kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency has taken refuge in the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.

Iranian officials were “making arrangements for his repatriation,” said Abdul Basit, a spokesman at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry. It was not clear how or when the scientist would leave the country.

The scientist, Shahram Amiri, 32, vanished during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009. He had worked at Iran 's Malek Ashtar University, which is linked to the powerful Revolutionary Guards .

The United States government has never acknowledged Mr. Amiri's existence, or admitted to a role in his disappearance.

“He is not in the Pakistani Embassy, per se,” Mr. Basit said. “He is at the Iranian interests section, which is manned by Iranian nationals.”

He added, “We understand that they are making arrangements for his repatriation.”

Mr. Basit declined to comment on how the Iranian scientist entered the mission section and denied that the incident could strain relations between Iran and Pakistan.

Earlier on Tuesday, Press TV, an Iranian state-run broadcaster, said Mr. Amiri had “reportedly taken refuge in Iran's interest section in Washington, urging an immediate return to the country.”

Iran's interest section is linked to the Pakistani Embassy, just as the United States maintains a similar status at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties after the 1979 revolution.

The development was the latest in a series of confusing statements concerning the scientist.

In June, Iran publicized what it called a videotaped statement from Mr. Amiri purporting to prove its claim about the scientist's disappearance. But a second videotape posted on the Internet showed a man who identified himself as the scientist and who claimed to be studying in the United States.

If the Iranian version is true, it is not clear how the man escaped his alleged captors to reach the Pakistani Embassy. If the second version is accurate, it is not clear why he would want to escape, or whether he had been taken under duress.

In the first video in June, Press TV said on Tuesday, Mr. Amiri said that he was abducted “in a joint operation by terror and kidnap teams from the U.S. intelligence service, C.I.A.” and from Saudi intelligence.

Press TV said the Iranian Foreign Ministry had handed over to Swiss diplomats in Tehran “new documents related to the abduction of the Iranian national by the C.I.A.” and called for Mr. Amiri's “swift and unconditional release.”

The broadcaster quoted an “audio message obtained by Iran's intelligence sources” as saying he had been offered $10 million “to appear on CNN and announce that he had willingly defected to the United States.” Iranian media have also said that a former Iranian deputy defense minister, Alireza Asgari, was abducted during a trip to Turkey in 2007. The two videos released in June served to deepen the mystery.

The first blurry Iranian video showed a man identified as the scientist, wearing a T-shirt and speaking Persian through a computer phone connection, who said he was captured, taken to a house in Saudi Arabia and given an injection. He awoke on a plane bound for the United States.

The second video, released shortly afterward on YouTube, showed a young man in a suit who said he was Mr. Amiri, insisting that he was free and safe in the United States, working on a Ph.D. He said he had no interest in politics or experience in nuclear weapons programs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Desperate Addicts Inject Others' Blood

Desperate heroin users in a few African cities have begun engaging in a practice that is so dangerous it is almost unthinkable: they deliberately inject themselves with another addict's blood, researchers say, in an effort to share the high or stave off the pangs of withdrawal.

The practice, called flashblood or sometimes flushblood, is not common, but has been reported in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the island of Zanzibar and in Mombasa, Kenya.

It puts users at the highest possible risk of contracting AIDS and hepatitis . While most AIDS transmission in Africa is by heterosexual sex, the use of heroin is growing in some cities, and experts are warning that flashblood — along with syringe-sharing and other dangerous habits — could fuel a new wave of AIDS infections.

“Injecting yourself with fresh blood is a crazy practice — it's the most effective way of infecting yourself with H.I.V.,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which supports the researchers who discovered the practice. “Even though the number who do it is a relatively small group, they are vectors for H.I.V. because they support themselves by sex work.”

Sheryl A. McCurdy, a professor of public health at the University of Texas in Houston, first described the practice five years ago in a brief letter to The British Medical Journal and recently published a study of it in the journal Addiction.

“I don't really know how widespread it is,” said Dr. McCurdy who is contacting other researchers working with addicts to get them to survey their subjects about it. “There's pretty circular movement in East Africa, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's in other cities.”

Increasing use of heroin in parts of Africa has the potential to magnify the AIDS epidemic.

In most East African countries like Tanzania and Kenya, only 3 to 8 percent of adults are infected with the AIDS virus, far fewer than in southern Africa, where the rates reach 15 to 25 percent.

But among those who inject heroin, the rates are far higher. In Tanzania, about 42 percent of addicts are infected. The rate is even higher — 64 percent — among female addicts, Dr. McCurdy said, and since most support themselves through prostitution, they are in two high-risk groups, and their customers are at risk of catching the disease.

Most of the addicts she has interviewed who practice flashblood, Dr. McCurdy said, are women. For them, sharing blood is more of an act of kindness than an attempt to get high: a woman who has made enough money to buy a sachet of heroin will share blood to help a friend avoid withdrawal. The friend is often a fellow sex worker who has become too old or sick to find customers.

By contrast, on Zanzibar, it is mostly among men, according to a 2006 study in The African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies, which found that about 9 percent of the 200 drug-injectors interviewed practiced it.

There have also been reports in East African newspapers of addicts selling their blood, but those have not been confirmed by medical researchers.

And, there have been scattered reports of flashblood-type practices in other countries with large numbers of heroin addicts, including Pakistan, but they also have not been confirmed by researchers.

Whether or not someone can actually a get drug rush from such a relatively tiny amount of blood has never been tested, Dr. McCurdy said. Humans have about five quarts of blood and the flashblood-user injects less than a teaspoon.

“They say they do,” she said. “They pass out as if they just got a high. But I've talked to doctors who say that could be entirely the placebo effect.”

One possibility, she said, is that traces of the drug are still in the syringe. After piercing a vein, an addict will typically draw some blood into the syringe, push it back out and repeat that three or four times to make sure all the heroin has been flushed into their blood. Those offering flashblood will usually hand over the syringe after only one in-out cycle.

The heroin sold in East Africa, she added, is often quite strong because it has come from relatively pure shipments on their way to Europe from Afghanistan or Asia.

Until recently, heroin use was uncommon on the continent because most Africans are too poor for traffickers to bother with. But in the last decade, smugglers have begun using port cities like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa and airport cities like Nairobi and Johannesburg as way stations on their routes: law-enforcement officials can often be bribed, and couriers from countries with no history of drug smuggling may escape searches by European border officers. The couriers may be paid in drugs, which they resell.

With more local users, more heroin is being sold in Africa. In the last decade, law-enforcement and drug treatment agencies said, heroin use has increased , especially in Kenya and Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria. Brown heroin that must be heated and inhaled — “chasing the dragon” — has given way to water-soluble white heroin that can be injected. Prices have fallen by as much as 90 percent.

While a teaspoon of blood is more than enough to transfer diseases like AIDS, said Dr. James AuBuchon, president-elect of the American Association of Blood Banks, it would not be enough to cause a life-threatening immune reaction, as can ensue when a patient gets a transfusion from someone of the wrong blood type. Instead, “you'd likely get only brief symptoms,” he said.

Dr. AuBuchon, who practices in Seattle, said he had never heard of flashblood, but added that he was horrified by the idea.

“What,” he asked, “are they thinking?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/13blood.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Russian Suicide Bomb Ring Foiled, Government Says

MOSCOW — Russian security services have broken up what they described as a terrorist cell in a Muslim region of the country that was preparing female suicide bombers for attacks on major Russian cities, officials announced on Monday.

They said six women had been arrested who had already written “farewell letters” as they were being prepared for deployment. But the officials did not disclose whether attacks were imminent, or any other details about planning.

Two men were also arrested, including one said to have played a role in attacks by two female suicide bombers on two subway stations in Moscow in March , which killed 40 people.

On Monday night, state-controlled television broadcast footage of the female suicide bombers detained by security forces. The National Antiterrorism Committee , a federal body, said the six women ranged in age from 15 to 29 years, adding that four of them were widows whose husbands had died in security operations.

The committee said suicide belts and weapons were confiscated.

The women were detained by the security services in the volatile southern region of Dagestan, near Chechnya. Officials have said the two female suicide bombers who carried out the March attacks in Moscow were from Dagestan.

Officials indicated on Monday that they believed that the arrests of the six women prevented another attack by so-called Black Widows — young Muslim women from the Caucasus region who are turned into human bombs in Russian cities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/world/europe/13russia.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 Sentenced in London for Airline Plot

LONDON — Three men convicted last week of involvement in a 2006 plot to bomb trans-Atlantic airliners were sentenced in a London court on Monday to life imprisonment, with the judge telling them they would serve a minimum of 20 years for their roles as “foot soldiers.”

The sentencing brought an end to an exhaustive court process that began in 2008 — an initial trial and two retrials — and concluded a terrorism case that British officials have described as the longest, costliest and most serious in the country's history. The plot detailed in court involved suicide bombers who were to bring down at least seven airliners heading from London to the United States and Canada on a single day with explosions created by mixing liquids carried aboard in plastic soft-drink bottles.

In all, eight men were sentenced to life terms for their roles in a scheme that prosecutors said could have taken 2,000 lives, and possibly many more. Evidence not presented at trial because of a ban on intercept evidence in British courts showed that the plotters were caught by electronic bugs discussing the recruitment of as many as 18 suicide bombers. When arrested, the plot's ringleader in Britain , Abdulla Ahmed Ali, was carrying a computer memory device listing seven flights earmarked for attack.

Lawyers for the three men sentenced on Monday — Arafat Waheed Khan, 29; Ibrahim Savant, 29; and Waheed Zaman, 26 — told the Woolwich Crown Court in south London that they had been led into terrorism, and had their Muslim faith corrupted, by Mr. Ali, 29, a computer engineer, who had known two of the three men since they were at school together in east London. Mr. Ali is serving a life sentence in the case, as are four other men.

The judge, Sir Timothy Holroyde, said he accepted that the three men were recruited by Mr. Ali, whom he called “a very powerful personality.” But he noted their full participation in the plot, telling them that each of them had planned “to kill members of the general public and yourselves by acting as a suicide bomber” and had recorded “martyrdom videos” in which they had spoken of themselves as “blessed by the opportunity to take part in that mission.”

“In this dreadful conspiracy, the intended role of the foot soldier was to blow himself up and to kill and maim an uncertain but potentially large number of men, women and children,” the judge said.

American intercepts of telephone and e-mail traffic between the plotters and contacts in Pakistan linked to Al Qaeda were crucial to uncovering the plot, and provided Scotland Yard with leads that led to a surveillance operation in Britain that kept the plotters under observation for several months.

But the case ended up causing deep strains between British and American terrorism investigators. Scotland Yard blamed the Americans for the premature arrest in Pakistan of a British man regarded as the plot's mastermind, Rashid Rauf . That arrest forced a hasty roundup of the remaining suspects in August 2006 that British investigators said weakened the case against the men at the ensuing trials. Mr. Rauf escaped from Pakistani custody in December 2007, but was reported by American and Pakistani officials to have been killed in an area along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan 11 months later by a missile fired from an American drone.

A first trial in London ended with none of the eight defendants convicted of the principal charge of plotting to blow up airliners. A second trial led to three of the men, including Mr. Ali, being convicted on that charge, and two others on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. At the third trial, the three men sentenced on Monday were found guilty of the same charge. All eight men received life terms, and four other men over the course of the trials were convicted of lesser offenses related to the plot.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/world/europe/13britain.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Backers Give ‘Son of Sam' Image Makeover

During a yearlong string of shootings before his arrest in the summer of 1977, David Berkowitz , known as the Son of Sam, killed six people and wounded seven others in New York City.

Upon his confession to the shootings, the portrait of the serial killer that emerged was of a deeply disturbed loner, a man with a .44-caliber handgun who said he took orders from a demonic black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor.

But in the years Mr. Berkowitz has been serving a 25-year-to-life sentence, he has been anything but alone. He has, it turns out, attracted an array of individuals from outside prison who, though they deplore his murderous past, have become friends, acquaintances and in some instances a kind of ad hoc set of assistants.

This circle of admirers, to a great degree, is made up of evangelical Christians, including a Town and Village Courts judge in upstate New York and a financial adviser in Manhattan, who have been moved by Mr. Berkowitz's story of becoming a born-again Christian 23 years ago, and many of them have sought to publicize his account of redemption.

But there are others who have been drawn to him for reasons that are not religious, like the director of the mayor's crime victims office in Houston and Daniel Lefkowitz, a Bronx teenage acquaintance of Mr. Berkowitz's who interviewed him in 2009 for a talk show he hosts on cable-access TV in northern Westchester County.

What all these people have in common is that they have made Mr. Berkowitz, 57, the beneficiary of what has amounted to a highly unusual public relations makeover.

A Christian postal worker in Texas runs a Web site on Mr. Berkowitz's behalf called Arise and Shine that displays a photo of Mr. Berkowitz smiling and wearing a white golf shirt in front of a prison mural of a wooded lake area. The Web site promotes the book version of his prison journals, “Son of Hope” — for which he receives no money — and includes an apology from him, as well as a narrative, in eight languages, about his earlier life and religious experiences behind bars.

Tony Loeffler, a prison minister and a gospel blues guitarist, says that over the last two years he has handed out thousands of copies of a testimonial tract by Mr. Berkowitz at correctional facilities, churches, rescue missions, a large motorcycle rally and performances of his in the United States, as well as in countries like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago.

And the politically powerful Christian group Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs conducted a radio interview with Mr. Berkowitz in 2003 about his troubled childhood, the shootings and his religious faith. According to Scott Welch, a senior producer, the segment was broadcast over some 2,000 outlets in the United States, in addition to being carried in more than 50 other countries. Mr. Welch has maintained a relationship with Mr. Berkowitz through the mail since the interview.

Infamous criminals have always had a knack for attracting followings — populated by conspiracy theorists, suitors and others. But experts in the field of prison ministry say Mr. Berkowitz's work, through his own letter-writing ministry and the exposure he has received as a self-proclaimed redeemed serial killer, stands out as unique.

Mr. Berkowitz, a former postal employee, discussed his relationships in a recent prison interview and later in letters.

“These friendships, relationships, are a precious and priceless gift from God,” he said. “Here I am, a convicted felon, a murderer, a man undeserving of anything that is good and wholesome. Yet, there are people who have found it in their heart to love me and have concern for me.

“Also, these friendships help to connect me with the church, and with society,” Mr. Berkowitz said, adding, “It's not a one-sided relationship but one of mutual giving.”

Mr. Berkowitz explained that he writes individuals and organizations about two dozen letters a week on a Swintec electric typewriter — he says he is illiterate on a computer and has no access to one — along with spending time with people who visit him at the maximum-security Sullivan Correctional Facility in upstate New York and talking to those he calls on the phone.

Inside the prison walls, the chaplain allows him to open religious services with a prayer. Most days, he works as a mobility guide, helping disabled inmates get around, and assists mentally ill inmates who may need a hand with daily activities and those who have difficulty reading or writing.

But some of those connected to the Son of Sam case express deep doubt about whether Mr. Berkowitz is truly a born-again Christian or whether he is just using religion to present himself as a changed man.

Joseph Coffey, the police sergeant who took Mr. Berkowitz's initial confession, said his statements about his religious convictions were as believable as his amended claim that members of a satanic cult to which he belonged were responsible for some of the shootings.

“It's a total charade to promote himself,” said Mr. Coffey, who retired from the Police Department in 1985. “I have had people who I sent to prison or put in the witness protection program find religion because it suits them by providing them access to the outside world.”

Joseph Borrelli, a homicide captain who was involved in the manhunt, said that when he saw Mr. Berkowitz in a TV interview several years ago, he seemed “different; more sincere and grounded.”

He added, “These people around him may be decent folks, but perhaps some are looking at him to see if they can get some notoriety for being part of his conversion to a good guy.”

The group of supporters who say that Mr. Berkowitz believes that Jesus Christ is the savior — some of whom know one another — offer similar rationales for working with him.

RoxAnne Tauriello of New Jersey routinely talks with Mr. Berkowitz, who in 1995 appeared from prison on a Christian TV talk show that she produces and hosts. Ms. Tauriello said that Mr. Berkowitz's correspondence in the mid-1990s with an evangelist and several pastors in Ghana who were in need of Bibles led her to establish a ministry that has since sent thousands more to that West African country.

She and others also point to the stream of letters that Mr. Berkowitz has received from people around the world, from places like Kharkov, Ukraine, and Leimen, Germany.

In 2007, the chaplain of a state youth development center in Somerville, Tenn., wrote to ask him for help in dealing with students who were veering toward Satanism.

“David, I am asking you to write out for me your warnings as to the study of the satanic bible,” he wrote. “Please be thorough but also concise. I may even forward your warnings to the commissioner of the department.”

Darrell Scott , whose daughter Rachel was killed in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 , has visited Mr. Berkowitz about four times. The two men struck up a relationship after Mr. Scott learned that Mr. Berkowitz was moved by a book that he and his ex-wife, Beth Nimmo, had written about Rachel.

“We met on one occasion about bullying in schools and the effects it has on kids,” Mr. Scott said. “He said that he wished he could go back and change things he had done because he felt that some of the people he bullied in school still carried the hurt with them.”

Others who have been involved in Mr. Berkowitz's life have extended themselves in other ways.

Dan Nicholls, a retired public school teacher in New Jersey, says that he and Mr. Berkowitz are “best friends.” Mr. Nicholls has made him columns of address labels with Mr. Berkowitz's name, inmate number and the prison address so that he need not spend time and typewriter ink putting that information on envelopes.

“Going to see him is one of the joys in life,” Mr. Nicholls said. “The holy spirit dwells in him.”

Alan Jay Binger, a Rockland County lawyer who is a friend of Mr. Berkowitz's, says he keeps much of Mr. Berkowitz's personal memorabilia, like bar mitzvah photos, an old typewriter and letters he has received and written. In one letter, to Gov. George E. Pataki , Mr. Berkowitz said that he did not deserve parole.

And there are certainly those who say they never would have imagined having a relationship with a convicted serial killer.

“It is absolutely the strangest alliance I have developed over my 25-years-plus in criminal justice,” said Andy Kahan, the crime victims assistance director to the mayor of Houston.

As part of Mr. Kahan's campaign against letting people profit on the sale of items from notorious criminals, he wrote to Mr. Berkowitz in 2000 to alert him that he was being exploited on several Internet sites by the auctioning of letters and other writings bearing his name.

Mr. Kahan asked Mr. Berkowitz if he would provide a statement with his thoughts and perspective on the so-called murderabilia industry. Mr. Berkowitz obliged with a three-page statement, parts of which Mr. Kahan read at hearings held by the Texas Legislature. Over the years, Mr. Berkowitz, who has received solicitations from prospective sellers, has shared his knowledge of the industry with Mr. Kahan.

“You can't change the past, but you can alter the future,” Mr. Kahan said, “and by working with me on this issue, it certainly shows that he is trying to make amends.”

The postal worker in Texas who runs Mr. Berkowitz's Web site said in an e-mail message that she first became interested in him a number of years ago after she stumbled across his interview on a radio program from Focus on the Family.

“I was blown away by his story because I had no idea he was now a Christian,” said the woman, who requested anonymity so as not to draw attention to herself. At the time, she was living in Virginia and was involved in a homeless ministry in Washington. “I saw David's testimony as a way to reach a lot of these people who were straight out of prison and jail,” she said.

The woman wrote to Mr. Berkowitz, and the two eventually became friends, she said. Mr. Berkowitz's Web site back then, forgivenforlife.com , was experiencing some problems, so she decided to create a new one for him. In August 2006, the new site, which also promotes the sale of DVDs and CDs of Mr. Berkowitz's testimony, was operating.

With respect to her working for the Postal Service, the woman said, “You can see that God has a sense of humor, since David also worked for the post office at one time.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/nyregion/13berkowitz.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Yellow Light to DNA Searches

For nearly 25 years, a serial killer stalked South Los Angeles, murdering at least 10 people. He was caught last week through the use of a much-debated DNA technique that involves tracking down relatives of convicted criminals. The technique, known as familial searching, has significant potential as a crime-fighting tool and is likely to spread to other states now that it has passed its first successful test in this country. But there must be stringent safeguards to prevent abuse.

Normally, if investigators find some DNA at a crime scene, a lab checks for matches in the database. If there is no exact match, the database search ends there. But sometimes the sample matches part of other people's DNA, and the matches are strongest with a family link.

In the case of the serial killer nicknamed the “Grim Sleeper,” DNA samples he left at several crime scenes were a close partial match to Christopher Franklin, who was in a California prison on a weapons conviction. Investigators could tell that the killer had to be a close relative of Mr. Franklin and narrowed it down to his father, Lonnie Franklin Jr., after they found the father's DNA in saliva on a discarded slice of pizza. Lonnie Franklin Jr. was charged with 10 counts of murder.

Using a partial DNA match this way could raise all sorts of privacy and civil liberties issues if not carefully controlled. Hundreds of people could fall under suspicion simply because they are related to someone in the criminal DNA database. Because blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately represented there, a first-time black offender has a better chance of having his DNA lead to a familial match than does a first-time white offender.

These concerns are serious but should not block the use of familial searching, which has led to several successful arrests in Britain. If other states want to proceed in this area, they need to follow the example of California, which has strict requirements for the use of the technique.

Under rules set up by Attorney General Jerry Brown, familial searching cannot be used unless all other investigative leads have been exhausted. The crime must be murder or rape, and the criminal has to be an active threat to public safety — still committing crimes.

A committee of lawyers and forensic experts in the attorney general's office evaluates all requests to do a familial search and votes on whether to proceed based on those criteria, as well as the strength of the DNA match and several other factors.

Those procedures, however, are not codified into law, and they need to be, in California and in any other state that moves in this direction. (Currently, only California and Colorado have written policies.) Another attorney general could come along and loosen the procedures to allow abusive fishing expeditions.

One example of the potential for abuse is taking place elsewhere in California, where the district attorney of Orange County, Tony Rackauckas, has set up his own database, apart from the state's, which he can use as he pleases. It includes many people whose arrests do not meet the standards set up by the state for inclusion in the DNA database. State lawmakers across the country need to require centralized databases with statewide laws governing their use.

Crime-fighting technology may be improving — and DNA sampling has been a huge boon to many innocent prisoners — but it must balanced alongside constitutional protections against intrusive searches.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/opinion/13tue1.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No Honor, Only Horror

There is much to admire in India today, including its vibrant democracy and economy and its rich traditions. It should also lead the way in protecting and empowering women by ending so-called honor killings.

Jim Yardley recently reported in The Times on the case of Nirupama Pathak, a 22-year-old journalism graduate student from northern India who was found dead in her bedroom in April. Police arrested her mother on suspicion of murder; the family insisted Ms. Pathak had killed herself after confessing that she was pregnant.

The legal process must move forward, but what is clear is that Ms. Pathak's family — members of the Brahmin caste, the highest Hindu caste — fiercely disapproved of her engagement to a young man she had met at school who was from a middle-upper caste. When she told her family of her plans to marry, The Times reported, she was accused of defiling her Hindu religion.

Her family gave police conflicting stories about how Ms. Pathak died. First, it was said that she had died from electrocution. Then the claim was that she had hanged herself. The autopsy showed that she had suffocated.

Responding to an apparent resurgence in “honor killings,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered a cabinet-level commission this month to consider tougher penalties in such cases. In June, India's Supreme Court asked seven states and the national government to report on what is being done to address the problem. Mr. Singh and the court need to follow through.

Honor killings are widely reported in the Middle East and South Asia, but in recent years they also have taken place in Italy, Sweden, Brazil and Britain. According to Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, there are 5,000 instances annually when women and girls are shot, stoned, burned, buried alive, strangled, smothered and knifed to death by fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, even mothers in the name of preserving family “honor.” Ms. Pillay has rejected arguments that such family violence is outside the conceptual framework of international human rights.

There is a reason these religious and cultural beliefs are allowed to persist. Politicians don't have the courage to call it what it is: murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/opinion/13tue3.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Homeland Security

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Secretary Napolitano's Remarks to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives

July 12, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Washington, D.C.—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks highlighting the Department's continued commitment to enhancing information sharing with state and local law enforcement partners to better protect the public at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Annual Training Conference and Exhibition.

"The Department is committed to continuing to expand our unprecedented partnerships with state and local law enforcement organizations nationwide to help law enforcement officers on the front lines combat threats to public safety," said Secretary Napolitano.

In her remarks, Secretary Napolitano reiterated DHS' critical role as a central repository for information for state and local law enforcement—including information regarding terrorism, drug trafficking, or other threats to public safety—and underscored her continued commitment to improving the collection, analysis and sharing of information through fusion centers.

She highlighted the Department's collaboration with law enforcement nationwide to expand the Suspicious Activity Reporting initiative—which will provide training to frontline officers on ways to quickly report activities that are possibly linked to terrorism in order to quickly share that information with other law enforcement entities—and to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats through the national "See Something, Say Something" public awareness campaign.

Secretary Napolitano also discussed the critical importance of information-driven, evidence-based efforts—supported by the Department and implemented with the leadership of local law enforcement officials and in close collaboration with the communities themselves—to combat violent extremism in America's communities.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1278957212494.shtm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Justice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, thank you all for coming. It's been a while since we've done one of these.

I wanted to take the opportunity today to tell you about some changes we anticipate making in the Criminal Division, to build on our already successful efforts to prosecute organized criminal groups.

In that regard, I think it is important to note the string of recent success our Gang Unit has had in prosecuting some of the most dangerous and violent gang offenders in this country.

In Charlotte, we've convicted numerous MS-13 leaders and associates, including Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana who will be sentenced at the end of this month. In April, a federal jury voted unanimously to impose the death penalty against Umana after they convicted him of murder and related charges, including weapons, extortion and witness tampering and intimidation charges.

In addition, 11 people charged in the original 26-person indictment have now been sentenced, many to significant prison terms – terms like 240 months, 222 months and 169 months.

In Texas, Maryland and Indiana, we're fighting the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation. Most recently, on June 29, we announced racketeering conspiracy charges against six alleged Almighty Latin King and Queen members in Indiana.

The week before, we charged 26 alleged Bloods gang members and associates in Tennessee with crimes related to their alleged gang activity.

These are just a few recent examples.

And let me remind you, this has all been accomplished by a small group of only 13 attorneys who, along with their AUSA counterparts, have really struck a blow against gang operations in American communities.

The partnerships this unit has established with U.S. Attorneys' Offices across the country, and the commitment these offices have made, have produced these tangible results.

Of course, while we're heartened to see an overall drop in violent crime, we know gang violence and associated crimes persist in far too many communities.

To a citizen who lives in fear, the worst gang in America is one in their neighborhood – the one trying to recruit their child at school, the one selling drugs on their block, the one whose stray bullet ended the life of their neighbor's child.

That's why the Gang Unit targets high-impact gang cases involving regional, national or international gang threats. We want to have maximum impact, both in creating safer communities and deterring future criminal activity by disrupting significant organized criminal groups' operations.

To further that goal, I've recently completed a comprehensive review of the Criminal Division's efforts on organized crime, violent crime and gangs.

But before we get into it, there's one more thing I'd like to tell you about today. There is simply no way to talk about the department's legendary efforts to fight organized crime without talking about one of the effort's most revered forefathers - Jack Keeney.

Some people thought the biggest career move announced last week involved LeBron James, but for the people of the Justice Department, the biggest career move announced last week involved a true Hall of Famer - Mr. Keeney

Since 1951 Mr. Keeney has devoted his life to the pursuit of justice - in particular organized crime - and last week, he told me that he has decided to retire.

A career prosecutor in every sense of the words and meaning, Mr. Keeney made sure that his last accomplishment at the department was to ensure the continued success of the organized crime program he helped to build.

Though the section's name has changed and prosecutors have come and gone throughout the decades, two things have remained - the department's singular mission to eradicate organized crime in the United States, and Mr. Keeney.

His devotion to this department and to mentoring thousands of young prosecutors is eclipsed only by the success his efforts have achieved and for the Fighting Irish.

The world has all kinds of celebrities, but in these hallowed halls of justice, there are legal giants known primarily to the men and women who devote their lives and their careers to the rule of law and among that elite group, Mr. Keeney is truly a legend who will be missed.

Now, as I said earlier, the other group we have that fights organized criminal groups - the Gang Unit - has also been very successful -- I've just listed only a few of that Unit's recent litigation successes. But we need to do more – not only investigating and prosecuting gangs, but also using our expertise to help provide support to prosecutors in U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the nation.

The Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, or OCRS, has a long and storied history of successfully combating organized crime, both in litigating its own cases and through its work with the Organized Crime Strike Force Units in U.S. Attorneys' Offices. More recently, OCRS has been focusing its efforts on combating international organized crime groups that threaten our safety and security. I want us to ramp up our efforts in this area as well.

Based on my review, I have recommended to the Attorney General that our already outstanding efforts in these areas would be enhanced by a merger of OCRS and the Gang Unit into one section - the Organized Crime and Gang Section - which will allow us to use our resources much more efficiently and effectively to combat gangs and other organized crime groups.

The Attorney General has indicated his support for this change, and we have begun discussions with members of Congress and within the executive branch to formalize these recommendations.

While the changes I propose require a few further steps within the executive branch and with Congress, initial discussions with both have been positive, and I am optimistic that we will move forward with this reorganization of some of the Department's finest prosecutors and staff. I am preparing to move forward on these changes, and I am excited to implement our new strategy.

Also as part of this merger, the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, or GangTECC, will be merged into the new Organized Crime and Gang Section.

The men and women at GangTECC have worked hard since the Center's formation to coordinate major gang cases and identify emerging threats. The Center has also created a Most Wanted list, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service, which highlighted 12 state and local gang fugitives wanted for gang crimes. To date, this list has resulted in 10 fugitives being arrested.

By combining GangTECC into the same section as the Gang Unit, with common supervisors and a common mission, we believe information sharing and coordination will be significantly enhanced. In addition, we are linking GangTECC up with the department's Special Operations Division, which successfully coordinates multi-district operations targeting major drug-trafficking organizations. And we're making additional related changes that will improve GangTECC's access to information about gang cases being investigated by federal agents throughout the country.

These changes will greatly enhance GangTECC's ability to identify connections between gang cases being investigated in different parts of the country; to help make sure evidence is shared to benefit all of those cases; and to coordinate takedowns of those cases where appropriate for maximum impact.

Bruce Ohr, currently the chief of OCRS, will serve as the chief of this new section. Doug Crow, currently a deputy in OCRS, will serve as the Principal Deputy for Policy and

Operations, while Jim Trusty, currently the Deputy Chief and Acting Chief in the Gang Unit, will serve as Principal Deputy for Litigation. Kevin Carwile, who used to head the Gang Unit, is moving over to lead our Capital Case Unit.

We're also exploring creative ways to partner with our colleagues in the U.S. Attorneys' Offices to enhance the department's efforts to balance smart, targeted enforcement against gangs and violent criminals with robust efforts at intervention and prevention to help deter and prevent violent crime and help our young people stay away from gangs and violence.

We've made a number of changes in the Criminal Division since I first arrived. In fact, this is the second major structural change I've made in the Division in the past 15 months, the first being the merger that resulted in the creation of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. All of the changes we've made are designed to make the most efficient and effective use of our limited resources, while enhancing our ability to bring criminals to justice.

The Criminal Division has a rich history, filled with legendary prosecutors and storied cases.

I and people in my front office have spent a great deal of time talking with staff and attorneys to learn what actions people felt could most benefit the Division and ensure its strong footing for years to come. I am pleased to say that I believe these changes and others like them give the Division a foundation that will allow us to meet the 21 st century law enforcement challenges we face with the right mix of talent, intelligence, resources and most of all – determination.

With that, I welcome your questions.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/pr/speeches/2010/crm-speech-100712.html

.